


Semicolon, Parentheses

by Eclectic_Goddess



Category: The Losers (2010), The Losers (Comic)
Genre: Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-09
Updated: 2014-04-09
Packaged: 2018-01-18 17:26:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1436644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eclectic_Goddess/pseuds/Eclectic_Goddess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>; )</p>
            </blockquote>





	Semicolon, Parentheses

**Author's Note:**

> Written in April, 2010. Previously posted on Livejournal.

Clay couldn’t sleep. He lay in bed for a long time staring at the shadows on the ceiling and going over their plan. Any day now, they could get the orders to move, and they needed to be ready. Part of being ready was getting rest while he could, but that didn’t stop Clay from climbing out of bed when he realized that his mind was just too busy for sleep.

The team was bunked in a small house, isolated from town and accessible by a single-lane road that was clearly visible from any of the front windows. Cougar had early watch that night, and Clay found him exactly where he expected to, lounging in a chair in front of the big living room window. He had his rifle slung across his knee and a bottle with two glasses on the table next to him. He looked completely at ease, but Clay knew better. When Clay came into the room, he glanced up at him, then turned his attention back to the window.

“All quiet?”

Cougar nodded.

“Anyone else up?”

Cougar tilted his head toward the stairs. “Jensen.”

Clay sighed. If Cougar was the best equipped for this kind of waiting, then Jensen was easily the worst. They’d been cooped up in the house for the past five days, and he’d managed to drive just about all of them crazy in that time. Pooch refused to be alone in the same room with him and Roque had taken to fingering his knives whenever Jensen opened his mouth. Even Clay had ordered him to shut up the day before. Only Cougar seemed immune, smiling to himself as Jensen rattled on about anything and everything that came to mind.

Clay started for the stairs, already formulating his argument to make Jensen try to get some sleep. He could only run on caffeine and sugar and his own internal reserves of hyperactivity for so long before he’d crash, and they couldn’t afford to have that crash come right before they were called out.

“Boss,” Cougar said. “You might not wanna…”

Clay stopped on the third step. “Why not?”

Cougar only looked at him. Clay waited a moment to see if any further explanation was forthcoming, then headed up the stairs.

There were two bedrooms on the second floor. The door to the one Pooch and Roque were sharing was closed, but the other was open. Clay heard the clicking of a keyboard, and a familiar bluish light spilled out into the hallway. Of course, if Jensen was awake and there was no one to talk to, he would be on his computer.

Clay stepped into the doorway, and froze. He’d expected to find Jensen hunched over the little table with his laptop running, but he had also expected him to be dressed. He looked away as quickly as he could, but not before the observational skills that he’d been honing for years told him that Jensen was wearing only a pair of boxer shorts. Boxer shorts with smiley faces on them. And socks. He was also wearing socks.

“Jensen, what the hell?”

Jensen’s fingers didn’t slow on the keyboard. “Hey, colonel. I set up a secure satellite relay routed through China. Did you know that that when the KGB was dismantled, their computer systems were never taken offline? They deleted most of the files, but it’s not like those files are actually gone. Personnel records, strategic maps, supply lists…it’s all still out there if you know where to look.”

“Yeah, great,” Clay tried to focus on the wall over Jensen’s shoulder. “But why are you looking in your underwear?”

Jensen straightened then, looking down at himself. “Oh.”

“Yes, oh. You can’t hack with your pants on?”

“I can. It’s just…clothing can be really distracting, you know?”

Sighing, Clay pressed a hand to his eyes. “I’ve never found it to be, no.”

“It’s not like a sex thing, if that’s what you’re worried about. I mean, I like hacking a lot, but not like that. It’s not like I’m looking at porn or anything. If I was looking at porn, I’d probably-”

“Don’t…” Clay interrupted through grit teeth. “…tell me.”

“Okay.” Jensen fidgeted for a moment, fingers tapping at the edge of the table. “So…did you need something?”

Clay shook his head. He needed to get out of this room. He also needed to scrub out the inside of his eyelids. “I just wanted to tell you to try and get some sleep. We could get called out tomorrow.”

“Oh, sure. I’m almost done here, anyway.”

“Good, good.” Clay turned away, then stopped. “Oh, and, Jensen?”

“Yeah?”

“Next time you feel the need to hack naked, at least close the door.”

“I’m not naked,” Jensen protested. “I’m wearing undies! And socks!”

Clay used what Roque called his ‘colonel voice’. “Jensen.”

Pouting, Jensen went back to his typing and said, “Yes sir.”

Clay closed the door behind him and went back downstairs. Cougar had not moved. Clay dropped into the chair next to him. He wasn’t going to be going back to sleep any time soon. Cougar nudged the bottle toward him with an elbow, and Clay poured himself a drink. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

“You knew about this?” Clay asked finally.

Cougar smiled faintly. “You get used to it.”

 

THE END


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